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An interesting exchange comes to Rock Canyon High School

Fierro posing with Marines at the Toys for Tots Banquet on December 3. (Photo by Chuck Skinner). 


Article and photo by Kathy Dunker

From the South American town of Riobamba at over 9,000 feet in elevation to 6,500 feet in elevation in Castle Pines, comes 17 year-old Ruth Mariagracia Fierro Velasco, better known as Ruthy Fierro. She is the first exchange student hosted by the Castle Pines Rotary. The Castle Rock Rotary is sponsoring Fierro, a senior at Rock Canyon High School (RCHS). With her Converse tennis shoes, jeans, and a big smile for everyone, Fierro is quickly adapting to the American teenage scene.

Fierro stayed in Castle Pines Village with host family Mike and Marti Jones, after arriving in the United States on August 14. After her time at the Jones’s house, Fierro headed to Forest Park in December with hosts Renee Palmer and John Furjanic, where she will stay for a total of three months. Although this was the first time ever leaving her home country of Ecuador, Fierro began the school year at RCHS one week late, without incident, and seems well adjusted to the RCHS culture.

Fierro has a full schedule at RCHS, including chemistry, anatomy, gym, world literature, US history and calculus. Her favorite class is anatomy and she says of teacher Kristi Piccone, “This is one of the best teachers I ever had!” Loving anatomy comes as no surprise since Fierro would like to attend college in the fall this year majoring in medicine. Her ultimate goal is to become a neurosurgeon.

Finding American lifestyle “totally opposite” of her home, Fierro seems to be taking it all in stride. She maintains contact with her parents and older brother on Skype and stays up to date with Ecuadorian friends via e-mail and Facebook. When asked how often she contacts her friends, Fierro chuckled, “All the time!”

Fierro’s hometown of Riobamba is in the Andes Mountains of central Ecuador yet the temperature stays fairly constant year round between about 60 and 75 degrees. This has created some surprise for Fierro with Colorado’s sudden and drastic temperature changes. Fierro, since being in Colorado, has seen her first snow, her first Halloween, her first homecoming dance, her first Thanksgiving dinner, and her first Christmas away from her family. She hopes to learn snowboarding during her stay.

Fierro enjoys soccer, swimming, and dance. When asked what type of dance she likes the most, she laughed, “Everything; salsa, merengue, just no ballet. I don’t like ballet!” Fierro’s current host family took her to Las Vegas for a Garth Brooks concert. While Fierro had never heard of Brooks before, she found, “It was a really good concert even without knowing about any country [music] in Ecuador.”

Following her time with Palmer and Furjanic in Forest Park, Fierro will then complete the school year while staying with hosts Andrew and Jennifer Dunbar, also in Forest Park. At the end of the school year, Fierro will have the opportunity to take a three week US bus tour with the other 29 Rotary exchange students currently in Colorado. The tour will be extensive from California to New York, and is all financed by the Rotary.

Fierro’s older brother, also her only sibling, is currently attending college in Minnesota after coming to the US two years ago as a Rotary exchange student. Although Fierro would enjoy staying here for an extended time to attend college also, she commented, “My mom is very sad. If I stayed here next year, it would be too hard for my mom.” Consequently, Fierro plans to spend her initial college years studying in Ecuador.

Although college is free in Ecuador, Fierro says, “The colleges here are better and my brother wants to become a doctor also.” Fierro has looked into medical schools for herself, and is considering Germany, Spain and the US as options.

The Castle Pines Rotary meets every Thursday morning at 7 a.m. for breakfast at the Castle Pines Country Club.

For more information, visit www.rotaryclubofcastlepines.org or contact Tim Fitzpatrick at 720-232-6845.

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